Choosing to Be Decreased

1 Corinthians 2:2 (ESV) For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The city of Corinth was known for its intellectual pursuits. You would think Paul's strategy would be to sound high minded and intellectual. But no. He makes a willful decision to know nothing apart from christ. That is, Paul chose weakness to make Christ glorious. This was the confidence that Paul had in the Cross when facing overwhelming odds in a city renown for it's worldly wisdom.

What about us? Do we make the strategy about what we can bring to the table when sharing Christ? Or do we choose rather to look less than we are so that Christ is the clearest He can be?

I know as a Pastor, the confidence I bear has to do with how I feel about my argument or the cute story I'm going to tell or the funny joke I have prepared or the powerful video testimony in the middle of my message. My confidence is misplaced. Many times, I fall flat.

On the other hand, I have stepped in the pulpit with zero confidence in my notes, my stories and my illustrations and God's power has been made clear on many of those occasions. When I am at my worst, God is at His best. Perhaps that is why Paul chose to be at his seemingly worst. 

The point is, sometimes we pretend to be something we are not in order to impress or convince people of what we aren't anyway. Our glory and our message are rooted in Christ's work, not our wisdom or cunning.

Think of it, if we convince people to "follow Jesus" by our own cunning mind then they belong to us and not to Christ. We become responsible and bear the burden to be just as sharp, convincing or wise as they thought us the last time. What a dreadful trap to find ourselves!  On the other hand, if we step down from our perch and let Christ shine and they fall in love with Him, they are HIS and He takes responsibility for them! 

The last post I made the point that we should let our weaknesses be a vehicle for God's fullness. This post, it's about choosing to be less that we could be so that Christ is all He is!  It is better to be like John, "He must increase and I must decrease." 

What a sweet release the experience when we realize we don't have to be the star of the show. When Christ is truly enough in us and through us to those who hear us and know us. To let go of the idol of being important to others so that their faith and confidence rest solely on Jesus. 

PRAYER:

Father, I must decrease so that Christ can increase. May my confidence rest on You and Your powerful Word. May the false idol of importance or being impressive be taken out of my life so that Christ is all in all... every time.